Tuesday, July 20, 2010

How to put eyedrops in if you're squeamish

This is not a proper medically approved method. This is a method that works for me. I'm inclined to freak out at the prospect of anything getting near my eyes, but I can do this calmly and comfortably.

1. Stand with your right shoulder facing the mirror.
2. Lean in close to the mirror and look at yourself in the mirror out of the corners of your eyes, turning your head only the absolute minimum necessary. For the rest of this process you will look ONLY at the reflection in the mirror. You will not look at your own hands or body or the eyedropper; look at these things in the mirror if you need to look at them. Maintain eye contact with your reflection as much as humanly possible.
3. Hold onto the bottom outside eyelashes of your left eye, and gently pull your bottom eyelid away from your eye as far as you comfortably can.
4. Drop the eyedrops into the little pocket created by your bottom left eyelid.
5. As soon as the drops go in, let go of your eyelid, shut your eyes, and tilt your head back. (This will keep you from blinking the drops out). Return your head to the normal position and do whatever you need to do to be comfortable without blinking furiously.
6. Once you're comfortable and the drops are settled in your left eye, do the other side.

This method is useful because you can't see the eyedropper or the drops coming at your eyes, you can only see the reflection in the mirror. Using the mirror and making eye contact with your reflection makes sure your eyes stay away from the dropper, so you can go through the process almost in the third person. But using the mirror instead of going by feel makes sure you aren't surprised when the drop hits your eye, which keeps you from fighting it off.

3 comments:

M@ said...

I forget where it was I learned this trick, but it works like a charm. I wish I'd known it in my teen years when I was taking a lot of drops for my hayfever!

laura k said...

I guess pulling down your lower lid and putting the drop in the little pouch it makes doesn't work?

impudent strumpet said...

Not if I can see the dropper with the eye that the eye drop is going into. I just end up cringing away from it. This method keeps my eyes from seeing it.